More door-to-door solicitors arrested

Two door-to-door salesmen were arrested in Summit County on Friday after multiple residents called to complain about solicitors over the past two weeks.

The Park City Police and Summit County Sheriff’s office received repeated reports of door-to-door solicitors in June, with some residents saying the salespeople had been pushy, aggressive or refused to leave.

According to Summit County Detective Sergeant Ron Bridge, two solicitors were arrested in the Jeremy Ranch neighborhood because they were operating without a Summit County business license.

"The two men that were arrested were selling cleaning products but there are usually multiple businesses and product salesmen that come up here during the summer, they aren’t all part of one company," Bridge said. "People call because they feel threatened or see suspicious activity. Last summer, someone reported that a solicitor was peeing on the side of their house."

Bridge said that the two men were booked into jail instead of being issued a citation because they were from out of state and were considered a flight risk.

"Usually the door-to-door salespeople are not from around here and we book them into jail and have them post bail to guarantee that they will show up to court," he said. "Operating a business in the county without a license is a misdemeanor and breaks a county ordinance."

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If charged with operating a business without a license, a class B misdemeanor, the salespeople could be fined up to $5,000 each and could serve up to six months in jail.

Last August, an Illinois-based company claimed the sheriff’s department was racially profiling solicitors when eight black salesmen were arrested and booked into jail for operating a business without a license. Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said that booking solicitors into jail is common practice and about 28 salesmen have been booked in Summit County’s jail over the past three years.

Bridge added that residents should always make sure solicitors have a business license before purchasing a product.

"Even someone who is mowing a resident’s lawn should be operating within the county’s guidelines," Bridge said. "Residents should call us immediately if they suspect a solicitor does not have a license or if they feel threatened by them and we will be more than happy to come out and investigate."